Factors associated to the use of insecticide treated nets and intermittent preventive treatment for malaria control during pregnancy in Cameroon

BACKGROUND: Malaria in pregnancy has been shown to cause both maternal and infant morbidity and mortality especially in sub Saharan Africa. The World Health Organization therefore recommends the use of insecticide treated nets (ITNs), intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) and effective management of clinical malaria. The main aim of this study was to assess the coverage of ITN and IPT among pregnant women and the factors associated with their use in the Buea Health District of Cameroon. METHODS: A cross sectional study was carried out from April to July 2014, in the Buea Health District which included 292 pregnant women attending antenatal care at clinics in the area. A structured questionnaire was use to obtain demographic data of participants and information on IPT and ITN use. RESULTS: The Overall coverage rate of IPT was 88.7 % and 43.8 % for ITN while the overall non usage rate for IPT and ITN was 11.3 % and 17.5 % respectively. Occupation, educational level, trimester and number of ANC were statistically significant to ITN use by bivariate analyses while being a student/ unemployed (OR = 0.25, 95 % CI = 0.07–0.95)) was negatively associated to ITN use by multivariate analysis. For IPTp-SP, occupation of participants, educational level, trimester of pregnancy and number of ANC were statistically significantly by bivariate analyses while attending ANC just once (OR = 0.006, 95 % CI = 0.00–0.04) was negatively associated to IPTp-SP use by multivariate analyses. CONCLUSION: This study identified that the use of IPT was fairly good, while ITN use was still low despite their free distribution. Therefore, frequent antenatal care visits and involvement of participants in a potential income generating venture (Business or earning a salary) will increase IPT and ITN usage.